Harbor
A unisex name meaning a place providing shelter for ships.
Name Census estimates that about 1,163 living Americans carry the first name Harbor. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 66.8% of registrations being female. The average person named Harbor today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Harbor births was 2018 (120 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Harbor. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Harbor is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 8 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 294,716 Americans
Peak year
2018
120 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,456
Tracked since 2006
Gender
Gender distribution for Harbor
Harbor is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,171 total registrations, 389 (33.2%) were male and 782 (66.8%) were female.
Harbor as a male name
- Ranked #3,820 in 2024
- 29 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2018 (39 births)
Harbor as a female name
- Ranked #3,456 in 2024
- 45 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2018 (81 births)
Popularity
Harbor: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Harbor from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 656 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Harbor remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Harbor by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Harbor during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Harbors live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Florida, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Harbor, while Virginia, Michigan, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Harbor
Harbor is an English name derived from the Middle English word "herberwe," which means a shelter or lodging place. The name has its roots in the Old English word "herebeorg," which also means a place of shelter or refuge. This word is a compound of "here" (meaning army or host) and "beorg" (meaning a shelter or refuge).
In its earliest form, the word "herberwe" referred to a place where travelers, particularly soldiers or armies, could find lodging and shelter. Over time, the word evolved to refer to any kind of shelter or harbor, especially for ships at sea. The name Harbor likely emerged as a given name during the Middle Ages, reflecting the importance of ports and maritime trade in English-speaking regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Harbor is in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named "Herbertus de Herberga" (Herbert of the Harbor) in Wiltshire, England. This suggests that the name was already in use by the late 11th century.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the given name Harbor. One of the earliest was Harbor Grace (c. 1570-1645), an English merchant and colonist who established the settlement of Harbor Grace in Newfoundland, Canada, in the early 17th century.
Another notable figure was Harbor Bartlett (1785-1868), an American shipbuilder and businessman from Massachusetts. He was responsible for constructing several ships, including the famous whaling ship Charles W. Morgan, which is now a museum ship.
In the 19th century, Harbor Emerson (1820-1892) was an American poet and lecturer who was part of the Transcendentalist movement. He was a close friend of Ralph Waldo Emerson and contributed to the literary journal The Dial.
Harbor Putnam (1844-1919) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 38th Governor of Connecticut from 1901 to 1905. He was also a member of the United States House of Representatives.
In more recent times, Harbor Schechter (1903-1989) was an American artist and illustrator known for his works depicting scenes of everyday life in New York City.
While not a common name today, Harbor has a rich history rooted in the maritime and trading traditions of English-speaking cultures. Its etymology reflects the importance of shelter and safe harbors for travelers and seafarers throughout history.
People
Harbor + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Harbor as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Harbor: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Harbor?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,163 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Harbor going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 294,716 US residents.
Is Harbor a common name?
We classify Harbor as "Rare". It ranks above 91.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,171 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Harbor most popular?
The single biggest year for Harbor was 2018, when 120 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Harbor is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Harbor a female name?
Yes, 66.8% of people registered as Harbor in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.